County employee picked as clerk-recorder

Hieu Nguyen, selected as the next Orange County clerk-recorder, discussed his fiscal philosophy in an interview with the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – After a full day of interviews with 11 candidates, including several who have held elected office, Orange County's Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to choose Hieu Nguyen, a county employee, to be the county's next clerk-recorder.

Nguyen, who is no relation to Supervisor Janet Nguyen, was employed by the Clerk-Recorder Department from 1993 to 2006, rising to the post of chief deputy recorder and managing about half the department's staff. Since then, he has worked for the clerk of the Board of Supervisors, overseeing file management and administration.

A subcommittee of the Board of Supervisors will now negotiate a contract with Nguyen. If that goes well, he will serve as clerk-recorder until the position comes up for election next year. He said Tuesday that he will run for the office.

"This is the only job I want for the rest of my career," he told the board.

Tom Daly, who had been clerk-recorder since 2002, resigned in December after being elected to the state Assembly.

Daly's aide, Renee Ramirez, who's been heading the department since he left, was among the 11 candidates who were interviewed Tuesday. She was grilled by the supervisors over a consulting contract Daly gave to a political ally while he was heading the department. The contract with Jordan Brandman, an Anaheim councilman, was extended after Ramirez took over the department, although Daly said it was done at his direction.

Nguyen ran against Daly for clerk-recorder in 2010, winning 25 percent of the vote to Daly's 75 percent.

The clerk-recorder, with a staff of 101 and a yearly budget of $11.6 million, is responsible for examining and recording documents related to ownership of land in the county, and for maintaining certified copies of birth, death and marriage certificates. The department also issues marriage licenses, performs civil marriage ceremonies, files fictitious business name statements and processes passport applications, among other duties.

The job of clerk-recorder pays $140,000 a year. Nguyen's appointment will be contingent on his agreeing to pay the full employee share of his pension, which he said he's happy to do. He said he earns about $80,000 now.

Nguyen was selected over political veterans such as Chris Norby, a former county supervisor and state assemblyman, and Dick Ackerman, an attorney and former state senator.

During more than seven hours of interviews Tuesday, the candidates fielded questions regarding same-sex marriage, their political ambitions, their technological knowledge and whether they are receiving a defined-benefit pension.

On the marriage question, Nguyen said his personal belief is that marriage is for a "husband and wife," but he would follow the law should same-sex marriages become legal again in California. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week on whether Proposition 8, the voter initiative that banned same-sex marriage in the state, should be reinstated after being tossed out by lower courts.

The board has been pushing employee unions to pay the full employee share of pension costs. It also says it won't hire anyone already receiving a pension from government work.

Hieu Nguyen, selected as the next Orange County clerk-recorder, discussed his fiscal philosophy in an interview with the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Former state Sen. Richard Ackerman was one of 11 candidates scheduled to to interview before the Orange County Board of Supervisors for clerk-recorder Tuesday. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Supervisor Todd Spitzer questions clerk-recorder candidate Hieu Nguyen as he interviews before the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Former state Sen. Richard Ackerman was one of 11 candidates to interview before the Orange County Board of Supervisors for clerk-recorder on Tuesday. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Supervisor Janet Nguyen shares a lighter moment as the Orange County Board of Supervisors interviews candidates for clerk-recorder on Tuesday. Chair Shawn Nelson is at left. JEBB HARRIS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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